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Repealing Common Core would be disastrous

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Some Ohio House Republicans are seeking in November to pass a bill to repeal Common Core, which
would have devastating consequences for public education in Ohio.

But first, a brief history: In 2010, the National Governors Association and Council of Chief
State School Officers developed Common Core, which seeks to improve career and college readiness by
introducing rigorous public-education standards in mathematics and English language arts.

Common Core has been accepted in more than 40 states, including Ohio. It is not a radical policy
favored only by the few; rather, it is a refreshingly rational approach to improving public
education in America — and it hasn’t come easy.

For the past four years, the Ohio Department of Education has worked with teachers across the
state to help implement Common Core, which will become effective in the 2014-15 school year. Our
future is now, and yet, it is already in jeopardy.

According to many House Republicans, most notably Speaker Pro Tempore Matt Huffman, Common Core
represents federal-government intrusion. Huffman believes that having uniform standards stifles
education and fails to take into account the unique needs of various regions. He has called Common
Core a “disaster.”

What Huffman fails to realize, however, is that Common Core is not a cookie-cutter,
one-size-fits-all approach to public education. It is a grassroots effort by activists, educators
and business leaders to specialize public education, to take control of it and hold it to a higher
standard. Aside from funding, the federal government has had and will have little to no involvement
in Common Core. In fact, local school districts — and only local school districts — will decide
what and how to teach.

Thankfully, there are Republicans in Ohio, such as Gov. John Kasich, who support Common Core for
those very reasons. Kasich recognizes the need for higher public-education standards and believes,
rightfully so, that Common Core will achieve them.

As one can see, this is not a Republican/Democrat issue, nor is it a philosophical debate about
the federal government and its place in public education — or at least it shouldn’t be. No, this is
about preparing our children for a better future.

Even worse, if Common Core is repealed, it is unknown what standards Ohio would adopt as an
alternative. We must not let this happen. It is our responsibility to protect students from
substandard educational programming.

I understand that public-education reform has become frustrating for many people; they are weary
of its initiatives and skeptical of its promises. But we cannot give up. When we give up on
education, we give up on our children, our future and our country.